This year’s Environmental Pioneer Presidential Medal Awards ceremony was held yesterday noon, at the Presidential Secretariat in Fort, Colombo. It was held under the aegis of President Maithripala Sirisena, with the participation of Education Minister Akila Viraj Kariyawasam, Deputy Environment Minister Ajith Mannapperuma and other distinguished guests.
The National Environmental Pioneer Programme is implemented by the Central Environmental Authority in the school system with the sponsorship of the Ministry of Education. Its main objective is bequeathing the environmental heritage of our motherland to future generations.
This programme, implemented under the theme ‘The Environment Protects Us – Let Us Protect the Environment’, was initiated by the CEA in 1984 with a small group of 25 schoolchildren in Maligawatte, in order to create environment lovers who provide guidance to society to love, and to protect the environment by raising awareness. Today, this initiative has come to fruition as a fully-grown tree spreading its branches covering thousands of schools in the country.
There are five environmental stages in operation for the receipt of five badges by environmental pioneers under this programme. Under this scheme, there are five stages; such as the Environmental Pioneer, Green, Silver, and Gold medals, and the Presidential Medal.
This year, there are 93 environmental pioneers from 40 schools representing the districts of Moneragala, Ratnapura, Kalutara, Kurunegala, Polonnaruwa, Badulla, Batticaloa, Kandy, Hambantota, Vavuniya, Colombo, Gampaha, Matara, Galle and Puttalam qualified for the Presidential Medal.